The Peloton Tread: Is It Worth It?
I've had Peloton's Treadmill for exactly one year. I've logged over 200 runs on it and it's time to give an honest assessment. Spoiler: I love it and it is absolutely worth the money.
Before I bought the Tread, I was worried - would I use it enough to justify the price? Would it make me a better runner? Would it be too loud? Would it be okay to put upstairs?
As soon as it was delivered, I knew that none of these fears were warranted - but I've waited to do a full review until after owning it for a while.
Five Reasons I love the Tread:
It's incredibly well-built and feels great to run on. The Tread is sturdy. Its base weighs nearly 500 lbs and the thing is really well-built. I've run on lots of treadmills and many of them are hard on your joints and feet. The Tread is pretty cushy. Sometimes I actually walk on it with no shoes... that's how cushy it is.
I get a better workout on the Tread than outdoors. I've been a runner my whole life. When I run outside, I can get distracted and slow down, or I often just don't know how fast or slow I'm going. On regular treadmills, I get bored and hop off halfway through a workout. Because of the instructors - and the leaderboard - I push myself on the Tread. There's nothing better than watching my PR number from the last workout and trying to beat it. I'm not super competitive, but Peloton definitely pushes me further. I've sped up my mph a ton since using the Tread.
The challenges push me. Every month, Peloton launches a new challenge. There's always one based on the number of days you workout each month, and one based on the number of miles you run or ride. There are new challenges that pop up randomly - and then there's my favorite: The Annual. It tracks how many minutes you work out in the entire year. So far, I've clocked over 4K minutes and while that may not be a lot for many people, it's a lot for me! It means that I've been consistent in working out for the first time in years. All because that little number pushes me to get in my minutes every day.
The scenic runs help me get in a few extra miles. Once I've done my workout for the day, I like to hop back on the Tread at night when I'm talking to family on the phone. I turn on one of the scenic runs and feel like I'm walking through a Costa Rican rainforest, or hiking through Zion National Park. It helps me get a few extra steps in, and I love that I feel like I'm exploring the world. There are over X scenic runs, through big cities like Paris and Zurich and in nature.
The payment plan (with 0% APR) helped me afford it. Yes, at over $4K the Tread is super expensive. I typically never sign up for payment plans since they get you with the interest. My general philosophy is that if I don't have the money (or don't want to fork it over) for one all-in cash payment, I shouldn't be buying it. However, at $200/month for two years, I'm paying the exact same as I would if I paid all at once. So it seemed silly to pay upfront with 0% interest. The one catch here is that through Affirm, you can't pay with a credit card. So I left a bunch of rewards points on the table, and that hurt a bit.
Obviously, I'm a bit obsessed with Peloton. Most Peloton users are! Whatever equipment they come out with next (hopefully a Rower?), count me in!